Bailer top



Nov. 18, 1924. 1,516,416

L. D. TODD BAILER TOP Filed July 27, 192 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 NOV. 18:

1.. D. TODD BAILER TOP 2 Sheeis-Sheot Z Filed July 27 1922 Patented Nov.18, 1924.

UNITED STATES LORENZO DOW TODD, OF SHBEVEPOR-T, LOUISIANA.

BAILER TOP.

Application filed July 2'7, 1922.

T all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LORENZO D. Tom), a citizen of the United States,residing at Shreveport, in the parish of Caddo and State of Louisiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bailer Tops; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to improvements in bailer tops and has foran object to provide an improved top for the bailers of wells whichaffords many advantages in point of use over the bailer at presentemployed and in which the parts are few, simple and strong and whereinthe fishing of the bailer from the well will be accomplished more easilyand in a greater variety of ways than may be done at present with thetype of bailer top now employed.

At the present time the old bailer top comprises merely a length of pipehaving a bail at its top to which the cable is connected and shouldbreakage occur in the cable or in the bail, there is but one fishingtool that the well driller might use in removing the injured bailer.This tool is called a latchjack which is constructed and arranged totake into the bail of the old form of top; but inasmuch as it is notuncommon for the bail to break or to bend over to one side where itavoids the latch-jack, this tool is not particularly adapted for thepurpose designed and the injury to the bail or its distortion makes itall the more difiicult to salvage the bailer and its parts. Under suchcircumstances a great deal of time is lost in the operation of the welland by the operators and not infrequently the well has to be abandonedbecause of the failure to be able to dislodge the stuck bailer.

It is therefore a further object of this invention to so construct andarrange a bailer top as to permit of its readily being removed from thewell in case of breakage to any of the parts and moreover to provide forthe use of a great number and variety of fishing tools to insure thatthis operation may be carried out successfully thereby saving a greatdeal of time and labor and interfering as little as possible with thecontinuous operation of the well without requiring that the same beabandoned.

With the foregoing and other objects in Serial No. 577,883.

View, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and willbe more par ticularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols re: fer to like or correspondingparts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a vertical fragmentary section through a well showing theimproved bailer top in place with portions of the bailer connectedthereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of the improved bailertop with a section of pipes secured thereto.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the improvedbailer top.

Figure 4 is a cross section taken on the line H in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a top plan View of the bailer top, and

Figure 6 is a bottom plan of the same.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 designates the shank ofthe improved bailer top which is preferably constructed solid throughoutfor purpose of strength, the shank being relatively narrow as com paredwith the diameter of the well casing 2. At its upper end the solidreduced shank 1 is provided with a circular shoulder 3 lying above aseries of annular grooves or teeth 4 having inclined outer edgesprojecting downwardly with upwardly undercut notches in which to engagethe parts of a fishing tool, such for instance as a slip socket. Abovethe shoulder 3, the shank 1 is tapered upwardly forming a frustoconicalend 5, the top of which is truncated and on the outer tapering surfaceof which are screw threads, these running for instance in a right handdirection. The top thus provides for receiving an ordinary wire linerope socket 7 Below the shank 1 the improved bailer top is expanded intoan enlarged hollow base 8, a shoulder 9 being formed between the reducedand the enlarged parts through which are a number of ports 10 shown tobe four in number although the same may be provided in greater or lessnumbers as may be found necessary or desirable. These ports provide forthe flowing of the water between the interior of the hollow base 8 andthe space within the well extending about the shank 1. Within the hollowbase 8 are shoulders 11 and 12 arranged in terraced or stepped relationsand reducing the diameter of the interior at the point through whichentry is made by the ports 10. The major portion of the interior surfaceof the hollow enlarged end 8 is threaded say with left hand threads toengage with similar threads 14; upon the pipe section 15. This pipesection is also provided with threads 16 extending in an opposite, say aright hand direction and the bailer pipe 17 is screwed on to the thread16 as indicated in Figure 1.

In the use of the device, after the well has been drilled by a rotarydrilling rig and water is left standing in the same, in order to testthe casing, a bailer is connected together and lowered into the well,being reciprocated up and down to raise the water. It is not uncommonthat when this action is in progress the bailing line breaks or in someunex plained manner the bailer becomes fast in the. casing or in thebottom of the well and under such. circumstances the advantages of usingthe improved bailer will be found to be greatest.

Should the bailing line break, a slip socket may be run down into thehole and en gaged with the grooves or teeth at in the shank 1, and thebailer thus elevated inasmuch as this engagement affords a tight grip.However, assume that the bailer becomes stuck to such an extent that theslip socket will not hold. In this event the driller may rotate the pipeto the right and back oil the bailer top at the top portion of thethreaded pipe section 15. Meanwhile the lower connection of the pipesection will not become detached from the rest of the bailer pipe onaccount of the differences in the screw threads. When the bailer top isthus elevated and removed from the well, there are quite a number offishing tools that may be run into the well to remove the remainder ofthe bailer thereby assuring the driller a great many more chances incleaning out the well and proceeding with drilling operations.

In view of the foregoing it will be appar ent that the improved bailertop will afford free access of water up through the well withoutsacrificing the strength or compactness of the top and the same willafford opportunity for the exercise of a greater number of methods andimplements in h hing out the bailer should it become jammed in the well.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifi cally describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claim:

hat is claimed is:

A bailer top comprising a solid shank having exterior angular teeth anda tapering threaded upper end adapted to be screwed into a rope socket,and having at the lower end of the shank an enlarged hollow baseinternally threaded at its lower end with the threads running oppositelyto the threads on the tapering upper end of the shank, a pipe sectionthreaded at its upper end into said hollow base, said enlarged hollowbase providing a shoulder between the same and the shank and the bailertop having openings extending through the shoulder to the interior ofsaid base, said hollow base having stepped internal shoulders at the topof the internal threads to bind against said pipe section threaded intothe bailer top and to strengthen the hollow base whereby the same may bescrewed off of the upper end of said pipe section when the rope socketis turned in a direction to bind it on the tapering upper end of theshank.

LORENZO DOW TODD.

